Keep in mind that Slaton's body type make up / size / expected position function is totally different that of a defensive lineman. He essentially added 20 lbs of weight (on his sub 200 lb 5'9" frame) intended for ONLY the upper body, for the sole purpose of being able to sustain the trauma of head on hits. It, along with his tentativeness after his neck injury, contributed to his noticeable drop in quickness, which was his greatest trait. Try not to worry too much about analogy of these two players and their "weight gain."

I understand what you're saying, but 20lbs of muscle is good, no matter who you put it on. 20lbs of fat isn't. If you're expecting Mitchell to be that unmoveable force... yeah, 20lbs is 20lbs, don't really care where you get it.

But if you want him to push the pocket, if you want him to make stuff happen at the LOS, if you expect him to become the kind of inside presence that will avg 5 to 8 sacks over his career..... it had better be the 20lbs of muscle.

But with both Cody and Mitchell becoming FA's after this yr, planning for the loss of one of them would seem to be the prudent thing to do.

Fangupo would be a good place to start planning for the future. With Mitchell and Fangupo both having the ability to play some 5 tech Fangupo will probably make the team.

At whose/what positions expense is what should be interesting.

I agree. We were able to sustain the loss of Mario with having solid replacements. Hopefully, we have these in place at QB, NT, OLB (Barwin) and the only position we might be prepared to replace is LT. Not saying we should or have to but would be nice if team has upper hand.

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I want to be able to recognize the difference between a "want" and a "need" and then I want to be satisfied with getting a need

I understand what you're saying, but 20lbs of muscle is good, no matter who you put it on. 20lbs of fat isn't. If you're expecting Mitchell to be that unmoveable force... yeah, 20lbs is 20lbs, don't really care where you get it.

But if you want him to push the pocket, if you want him to make stuff happen at the LOS, if you expect him to become the kind of inside presence that will avg 5 to 8 sacks over his career..... it had better be the 20lbs of muscle.

I, for some reason, think Wade wants the latter.

Arm chair coaches here, want the former.

If he got fat & slow, he's our next Travis Johnson.

I don't believe I was ever speaking about gaining fat. Nevertheless, even gaining too much muscle on a small frame can lead to problems, especially one of coordination, especially if counterbalancing muscles are not equally developed......something that unfortunately occurs too often when a great deal of muscle is put on quickly. To put it simply, you can only build so much house on a small foundation.

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Re: Earl Mitchell bulks up from 287 to 308 pounds

Quote:

Originally Posted by infantrycak

During any organized activity there are cooks guided by the nutritionist providing meals to the players. The nutritionist does all sorts of educational and personal planning with them in conjunction with the athletic trainer. When organized activities are not going on the players are not going to drive to the stadium to eat and the team is not going to send private chefs out to each player.

Right. Why not? Seems like it wouldn't take much to protect their investments...

Hell, they could give me a field pass for one game or something like that and I would cook for them! Steamed fish and chicken, veggies, rice, pasta...I'd do it.

Why would not the individual player hire a cook/nutritionist, massage therapist/trainer or whatever? Seems that would be a good thing and a business write off.

I'm pretty sure most players have trainers they work with or training programs from the team. I'm also pretty sure they go and get massages. Most of them probably also have diet plans they follow.

But to hire individuals to do all that stuff would be expensive. Yeah they make a bunch of money, but all of them aren't super rich. And plus they probably have a lot of other expenses.

A good friend of mine and the lady I work with in the classroom is Isaac bruce's mother in law. Her oldest daughter is married to him. (she's an engineer)

They have a lot of money, but he takes care of a lot of his deadbeat family. He had some apartments and a whole section was occupied by family that was staying there rent free. And some of them had good jobs.

Basically, what I'm saying is that quite a few players can't or don't budget for that.

It's almost like saying a regular guy should only shop at whole foods. Yes there are quite a few people that do, but some people don't budget for that and some just can't afford it.

Why would not the individual player hire a cook/nutritionist, massage therapist/trainer or whatever? Seems that would be a good thing and a business write off.

I have a friend who's a massage therapist. She works on a lot of athletes, including Wade Smith. But it's more of a "they call you when they need you" sort of thing as opposed to a "you work for me" thing.

tangential sidebar alert....

My wife got thrown from one of her horses. She cracked a couple of ribs and had a horrible, purple bruise that went from her mid-thigh up to her armpit. She asked that massage therapist "have you ever seen a bruise this bad?" And the massage therapist said, "Oh, yeah. I work on football players. They all have bruises this bad or worse."

I'm pretty sure most players have trainers they work with or training programs from the team. I'm also pretty sure they go and get massages. Most of them probably also have diet plans they follow.

But to hire individuals to do all that stuff would be expensive. Yeah they make a bunch of money, but all of them aren't super rich. And plus they probably have a lot of other expenses.

A good friend of mine and the lady I work with in the classroom is Isaac bruce's mother in law. Her oldest daughter is married to him. (she's an engineer)

They have a lot of money, but he takes care of a lot of his deadbeat family. He had some apartments and a whole section was occupied by family that was staying there rent free. And some of them had good jobs.

Basically, what I'm saying is that quite a few players can't or don't budget for that.

It's almost like saying a regular guy should only shop at whole foods. Yes there are quite a few people that do, but some people don't budget for that and some just can't afford it.

Let me wipe tears from my face because a player does not or chooses not to manage his minimal hundreds of thousands per year salary.

You can pick up a cook/housekeeper for couple C notes a week to follow team oriented menus. Now you do have to report them on your income taxes...

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I want to be able to recognize the difference between a "want" and a "need" and then I want to be satisfied with getting a need

I've known quite a few NFL players over the years. Many have had complete nutritional guidance by the team and healthy prepared meals on "campus." But when they go out, it's unbelieveable how much and what kind of garbage food they choose to consume, not to even mention alcohol. Of course, there are others that continue their healthful lifestyle when "out of sight."